Scan barcode
abby27's review against another edition
4.0
This book kind of made me stop believing in romantic love at a young age, but other than that, it was great! Nice collection of thoughts on the significance of humans' individuality and unique beliefs
josephsteane's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
szinola's review against another edition
3.0
His philosophy was intriguing, the Bible-thumping Jesus freak theology not so much.
cinnamonspy's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
SUPER dense, but lots of good material with some things I disagreed with.
casparb's review against another edition
Actually v much enjoyed this!! Pascal has a style quite besides what one would expect from his time & inclination it's so fluent so personal. Of course the iconic wager is, iconic. We're kind of used to it by now but I'm still just appreciative of that Alexandrian approach to the Gordian Knot. I get the impression that he's very much a feeling person how unphilosophical of me ('The fact is that the present usually hurts. We thrust it out of sight because it distresses us').
This edition also includes a bunch of other papers which are worth equal attention such as the papers found sewn into Pascal's coat which he presumably carried with him as he went about. The first of these seems to be a prayer paper, his own work & it's beautiful.
the eternal silence of these infinite spaces fills me with dread
This edition also includes a bunch of other papers which are worth equal attention such as the papers found sewn into Pascal's coat which he presumably carried with him as he went about. The first of these seems to be a prayer paper, his own work & it's beautiful.
the eternal silence of these infinite spaces fills me with dread
sreymey's review against another edition
5.0
It's the most thought-provoking book I've ever read. It offers perspective on a range of essential topics. One core theme of the book is the idea that our minds are limited in our understanding and knowledge of the world and that we can never truly know and understand everything. Another theme is Pascal's belief in God, his views on faith and doubt, as well as his arguments in support of Christianity as the true religion. Pascal's consensus is that God is the only ultimate truth. He also tackles the problem of evil in the world and explains that evil and suffering are a result of human sin and free will. Additionally, he wrote about the virtues and vices of Christians and how Christians should strive to live virtuous lives by following the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, Pascal admits that faith is a mystery that cannot be explained or understood. He also acknowledges that Christianity is not a perfect religion and that it has its own flaws and limitations. But even with these shortcomings, Pascal believes that Christianity is still the only way to truly find salvation and reach eternal life. Despite his strong faith and belief in Christianity, Pascal also recognized the limitations of human knowledge and understanding. He wrote that humans have only superficial knowledge and understanding of the world and that the human brain is not capable of fully understanding the universe. He maintained that there are some things that are beyond our ability to comprehend. This notion is expressed in the famous phrase, "The heart has its reasons which reason cannot know." Although Pascal was a devoted Christian, he was also a rational and logical thinker who was aware of the limitations of mankind's wisdom. Thus, his views are a good demonstration of the balance and tension between faith and reason, two fundamental aspects of human nature. On the one hand, he maintained a strong belief in God as the truth, yet he noticed the human mind and sought to understand the world through reason and logic. He was aware of the complexity of human nature, with its mixture of faith and reason; these two things are both vital elements in guiding and shaping our lives. While faith provides us with a deeper sense of purpose and meaning, reason allows us to explore and analyze the world around us, solve problems, and achieve advancements in anything. We cannot use one aspect and abandon another; otherwise, we only make ourselves blind to seeing the whole picture of things that are happening in the world. Hence, our experience is one of juxtaposition between logic and emotions. All of these are necessary and are needed to create a complete and balanced outlook.
pogseu's review against another edition
5.0
unfortunately, I haven't read the whole of the Pensees, although I did spend many a long afternoon working on them. I thought they were intellectually challenging, and loved the challenge. I focused on themes and topics, and took a lot of notes, as if I were back to school! I thoroughly enjoyed myself!
I got a better understanding of what he was trying to achieve with his fragments, and who he was writing for. Although I am not a religious person, from reading the fragments and the secondary literature, I became really interested in his will to convert libertins (=free-thinkers) to Christianity and his strong faith in what he believed in.
I got a better understanding of what he was trying to achieve with his fragments, and who he was writing for. Although I am not a religious person, from reading the fragments and the secondary literature, I became really interested in his will to convert libertins (=free-thinkers) to Christianity and his strong faith in what he believed in.
aspiringorakle's review against another edition
5.0
Pascal is clearly one of the smartest men to ever have lived. Being such a disparate work, it is hard to comment on it as a whole, filled with clever asides, indecipherable aphorisms, and chunks of text meant to connect to things forty pages away. I can say this: we need Pascal's pessimism. He sees very clearly the potential foibles of human nature and our wretchedness, our willingness to hide ourselves and dress ourselves up in false rank and deception. Perhaps in this he misses some human beauty. But he reminds us of what we are capable of (and the way we are, by default). We are wretched and glorious all at once. And Pascal is absolutely right about this (simple and naive though it may seem): we have a God in Christ who loves us anyway.
leevoncarbon's review against another edition
3.0
Portions of this book rate at least a 4 but the book as a whole is a 2 for me. The low rating is not fair in one sense in that it is not a book but notes that Pascal jotted down in preparation for a book that was never written before his death. There are long passages of incomplete thoughts of little interest but occasional gems that I still recall from the first time I read through this book 36 years ago. Pascal's insistence on seeing both sides of the truth of a matter is the most enduring impact that his writings have had on me. As illustrated by one of his most famous statements from this book: "What sort of freak then is man! How novel, how monstrous, how chaotic, how paradoxical, how prodigious! Judge of all things, feeble earthworm, repository of truth, sink of doubt and error, glory and refuse of the universe!" page 64.